My newest blind, my morning location now has a 12 foot by 12 foot reflection table. I final had a chance to do a little photography there yesterday.
I hope to post more about all the changes I have made here over the last month in the days to come.
On the last full night of 2019, I was able to watch a bobcat, a ringtail and a gray fox! What a treat! Plus, my trail camera captured javelina and two kinds of skunk. So I decided I needed to get my camera trap setup going – I have had a few challenges with the Olympus and battery life, but seem to have it dialed in now. Here is a ringtail from last night.
A ringtail!!! This is our new regular, I think he has a den nearby and seems really curious by us. Such a thrill! These guys are rarely seen. This was handheld as I sat by the campfire with my Olympus E-M1X with a 40-150 f/2.8 lens at 140 and 2.8. ISO 6400 and 1/15 of a second, the in body stabilization continues to amaze me!
This mockingbird was captured recently from our lower blind thanks to the Pro Capture “time machine” mode with my new Olympus.
Finally had a chance to do a little photography this week at the Desert Photo Retreat!
We actually have a few spots left in what has historically been our most popular photo tour; our Alaska Bear and Puffin photography tour!
We spend our days up close to magnificent Alaska brown bears, and our evening in a very comfortable lodge with awesome food! What could be better. Based on all the mating activity last spring, this could be a good spring for cubs! Talk about the ultimate Christmas gift!
Sorry I haven’t posted much lately – that should change soon now that I’m getting caught up with projects at the Desert Photo Retreat, and can get back to my own photography.
I have been really busy modifying the photo blinds and getting ready for the season, so I haven’t had time for photography yet – However, I couldn’t resist grabbing a photo of this cute little guy. Our javelina group has two little ones so far this year.
Well we had a crazy couple of days. First a snow storm on the drive to Anchorage with cars off the road all over the place. Then an all night flight to Phoenix. Lyft to our storage unit where we had a car that wouldn’t start, a flat tire, and broken jacks on our trailer. Long story short, everything worked out well and we are now on the property at the Desert Photo Retreat.
This summer was dry in Arizona with a lack of monsoon rains. When we checked on the property in October, I knew we would be right back, so I decided I had enough water storage that I could double the amount that flowed into the waterhole each day, that way the water hole never went dry. Well, thanks to the drought, that had huge results!
We picked up a few new regular species, including a mountain lion that at times came twice a night! Plus, a ring-tailed cat became a new regular, as did a spotted skunk, so now we see three species of skunks. The gray fox still visited nightly. The javelina were still regulars, and coyotes became a new regular. Bobcats were a infrequent visitor, but fun to see. Deer were regulars, that is until a mountain began showing up, then no more deer! At least two species of skunk also show each night. The activity has been incredible, that is until the rain arrived, and then I must say it dropped off. We should have a bunch more rain this week. But, the good news is, as soon as it dries out, most of these animals will be back!
Here is just one night, the times represent when the animal arrived. Most stayed for a few minutes at least. The night of November 2, 2019:
An unusual night without javelina.
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